Smooth Criminal

Chapter Seven

Gold returned to his shop some time later and when he entered, he found the Blue Fairy once again dressed as Mother Superior while she waited impatiently for the Dark One to return so she could share with him all that she saw, then leave as soon as possible. He smiled upon sensing her displeasure over being forced to follow his orders.

He was the first to speak up as he asked, "I take it from the sour look on your face that that you have good news for me?"

Blue looked at the villain coldly as she answered sadly, "What the Evil Queen has done is terrible. If I wasn't under your control, I could have helped him. I could have done something to…"

"But you are under my complete control and you will continue to do exactly as I tell you to do," Gold swiftly interrupted while he used his powers to choke her until he finally released her. "I take it that by 'him' you mean Hook? Exactly what has Her Majesty done that has you so high on the defensive?"

"What you believed was the last of Jekyll's serum that Hyde destroyed when you tried to kill him, wasn't actually the last of it," she responded coldly while Gold stepped around her to walk behind his counter and began to write in a notebook that he pulled from within his coat pocket, but paused when she explained what happened next. "The Queen had a few drops left… and she used them on Hook. There are now two of him, just as there are two of Regina and he's terrible."

Gold looked over at the fairy while he asked, "Exactly what version of the Captain made an appearance?"

Mother Superior answered fearfully, "He's as powerful as you, but without being tied to your dagger. The Evil Queen didn't just bring back Captain Hook, but the villain he was after becoming the Dark One. And seeing as you know I cannot lie to you, believe me when I say that he definitely still holds a grudge against you."

"Just continue telling me what happened next," he responded curtly as he continued writing. "Why did the Queen want to split Hook in two and what does she have planned for them both?"

"I couldn't hear everything that was said between them," Blue stated. "But as far as what I could hear, Hook is going to pretend to be Killian, in order to lure Emma and the others into some kind of trap. I just don't know how. Dark Hook also feels love for Emma and he's going to try to win her over while impersonating Killian. And the Evil Queen is going to help him so long as he helps her to destroy the rest of those who oppose her. She will use him to go after Snow and David, as well as Regina."

Gold nodded in understanding, then turned back to the Blue Fairy as he asked, "And what of Hook? The weak one?"

She sighed and replied sadly, "I am not sure. Hook almost immediately knocked him unconscious. I don't know what they plan to do with him while Dark Hook is out there pretending to be him. But surely it can't be good."

"Try not to worry about him too much, dearie," the Dark One answered smugly. "You know as well as I that they cannot hurt the pirate or kill him without the same thing happening to his dark doppelganger."

"And you know as well as I do that there is more than one way to harm someone without physically doing so," Blue responded as she glared at villain before her. "Please, just allow me to see the book you went in search for so that I can do your translation and then give me back my heart."

Rumple smiled and replied, "All in due time. I am in no hurry seeing as my son will not be born for several months yet."

She shook her head and then spoke again saying, "If you don't need me anymore, I'm going to go before I'm missed. Don't worry, I won't say a word to anyone."

"I wasn't worried in the slightest," he answered as he watched the fairy leave his shop and walked into the back room.

"So, you have the Blue Fairy under your thumb and you used her to spy on me," the Evil Queen suddenly said as she appeared from out of the shadows within the room. "I've got to say, I am a little disappointed, especially since I did come you to fill you in on what I've been up to."

Gold stared at her as he responded, "You have your own ways of spying on me and the rest of your enemies. I would have thought you'd expect the same from me."

The Queen smiled as she replied, "Indeed I do. Let me guess, you already know exactly why I'm here then."

"Unfortunately, Mother Superior didn't try hard enough to find a hiding place that would allow her to hear everything said between you, your sister, and Hook… the much, much darker version of him I mean of course," he answered. "Yes, I know that you've split him from the Captain whom you've captured and that he too still holds a grudge against me. Did you offer to help him get his revenge, or was another lie to get him to help you get what you want?"

"You know me too well," she responded smugly. "The truth is, I've come here hoping you would have no trouble with allowing me to use one of your possessions to trap the weaker of your enemies in his own private hell? Honestly, I'm surprised you haven't thought to do so to that pirate years ago when he first arrived here in this town."

The Dark One replied, "It's not that I didn't think to do so, but other things have gotten in the way. First, if you want the crystal, then I need you to tell me exactly what you have planned for Dark Hook. That is the deal, dearie."

The Evil Queen nodded and then stated, "Very well. Hook is going to be helping the Savior to steal the shears from you and I need you to let them. Don't worry, you can have them back once he uses them on Emma, which I have every confidence that he'll succeed in doing."

"I wouldn't underestimate the power of true love, Your Majesty," the Dark One answered firmly. "But perhaps if Hook is successful, then it would be better for the both of us. They can have the shears. And don't worry, I won't make it easy for them to steal from me. But one more word of warning… Do not give him a chance or help in trying to come against me. He may be a Dark One again without a dagger to stop him should he go too far, but I am still stronger than he is thanks to the powers belonging to all other Dark Ones who have ever lived. And once I destroy him and his weaker half first, then I will come for you. Do I make myself clear?"

"Perfectly," she responded and then waved her hand as Killian suddenly appeared unconscious on the floor within her cloud of smoke. "So, the crystal then?"

Finally, Gold flicked his own wrist as a dark purple crystal appeared within the Queen's hand, after which she said coolly, "I don't know how you came into possession of something that once belonged to the Black Fairy, but I am certainly grateful that you have."

He nodded and replied, "It appears to have finally come in handy after all these years."

The Evil Queen then knelt down over Killian as she touched the dark crystal to his chest and all of a sudden, his whole body began to glow as the room became lit up by its power. When the light faded, the villains unshielded their eyes, finding that the crystal had faded to black and that Killian's body was no longer lying where it was moments before.

"Exactly how does this rock really work?" she then asked.

"Unless you care to be transported to the very world it has entrapped the Captain in yourself, then we will never know," Gold stated smugly. "Now take it and leave my shop, but don't forget of what we've spoken. Or I promise, you will regret it."